Wine noob? No sweat. Start here and you'll be swirling your glass in style in no time:

"A good beginner wine is something that is not overly anything in particular," said Scarlett McLeroy- Musslewhite, Twin Liquors certified wine authority.

Choose a simple dinner or table wine. When you're drinking it, make note of what you're tasting. Different wines have different flavor notes.

Use the correct glasses for the wine. Air plays an important role in drinking wine. Red wines should be go into glasses with a larger, more bulbous base and white wines into a shorter more narrow base, shaped like a tulip.

Just have fun with it. Drinking wine isn't (necessarily) a science. Everyone has different taste buds, so something might taste good to you than it does to someone else.

Wine 101

• WHEN: Feb. 7

• TIME: 6:30-8 p.m.

• WHERE: Twin Liquors classroom, 6206 N. Navarro St.

• COST: Free, but must be 21 years or older

• NOTE: Space is limited, so a reservation is required. Call 361-580-1234 or email with the number of guests to store73@twinliquors.com.

There is something to be said about drinking wine. The simple act of emptying a bottle's contents into a clean, curvacious, long-stemmed glass and swirling it adds a touch of class and sophistication.

It has a lure that draws people to it the same way James Bond makes drinking a martini look good. But why?

For some drinkers, it opens doors to social occasions. For others, it's the hunt for the best possible pairing.

No matter the reason, there's a new business in town that specializes in the art of imbibing.

Twin Liquors Store Manager Scarlett McLeroy-Musslewhite is the Crossroads' newest brain to pick when searching for the best glass of pinot noir or chardonnay.

Other than the store's wide selections of wine, liquor and beer, the store will offer its customers - 21 years and older, of course - educational classes on drinks and cigars.

But before she could officially educate others on wine, she had to grow her own knowledge of fermented grape juice into something a bit stronger.

McLeroy-Musslewhite was dubbed a Twin Liquors certified wine authority in 2004 after completing the nine-week training course, and has been teaching classes at Twin Liquors ever since.

"I've always been really curious and enjoy wine, but once you start learning - it sounds snooty - but you learn to appreciate things you might have first been turning off to," she said.

During the wine classes, which she said will cover a wide range of topics from bordeaux to champagnes to the basics. Kicking off the classes, McLeroy-Musslewhite will host the Wine 101 class Feb. 7 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

"No one should ever be intimidated," she said. "If you have experience living in another country - like Spain or Italy or France - then, you can come and share your knowledge."

She added that people who have taken wine classes are encouraged to attend the classes because they build on what they already know about it.

Unlike some of the ideas that are attached to drinking wine, the classes are very relaxed. You aren't expected to know everything about it and she said a mix of people attend the classes from students to professionals to retirees.

So what is it about drinking wine that drew McLeroy-Musslewhite to it the way that women love diamonds and men love sports cars?

"It's the romance," she explained. "That's why people shy away from screw tops. Where's the romance of cutting the foil and opening it myself and pouring it. It's more elegant and refined. I think its the romance."